Paul Graham on why not to not start a startup

Written by Allen Stern - March 28, 2007

Paul Graham of Y Combinator has a great (lengthy!) post which is meant to help you overcome your issues with creating your own startup. It is a great read. He goes over each of the points listed below in-depth. He also notes that their first Y Combinator startup experiment produced at least 4 out of 8 winners including Reddit. What exactly determines success? Buyout? Money? Good question for someone to answer.

Paul's topics include:

Too young
Too inexperienced - I disagree with him here. I still believe that everyone should work a regular job for at least 1-2 years. When I coach youngsters this is the advice I give them. For so many different reasons.
Not determined enough
Not smart enough
Know nothing about business - see "too inexperienced" above for my views here. This is why you should take as many business/accounting/finance classes as possible no matter your major. Both undergraduate and graduate.
No cofounder
No idea
No room for startups
Family to support
Independently wealthy
Not ready for commitment
Need for structure
Fear of uncertainty - this is a big one for many people
Don't realize what you are avoiding
Parents want you to be a doctor - I have a funny story about this which I can tell over drinks one day - remind me!
A job is the default